A Dimensional Journey Begins with the Dragon Clan

Chapter 1208 1201. This is Emiya Kiritsugu

"So, the remaining 300 people abandoned the damaged ship and boarded two new ships to continue sailing. This time, one ship had 200 people, and the other had 100 people. But big holes appeared on the bottoms of the two ships again at the same time."

"Hey……"

"You are stopped by a hundred men in a small boat and asked to repair the boat first. What would you do?"

"This...but..."

A blinding flash of light appeared before his eyes, and as the bomb exploded, a hundred people turned into mud in the sea. This was what Emiya Kiritsugu did. As always, he carried out massacres.

"--correct."

"This isn't right...it's impossible!"

What is right.

Two hundred men survived, and three hundred men died—the needle of the scales had turned.

"No, your calculations were correct. You did sacrifice the minority to save the majority. Okay, next question."

Ignoring Kiritsugu's protests, the master of the game continued.

One hundred and twenty people and eighty people were put on the scales. Kiritsugu slaughtered eighty people.

The next ones were the eighty and forty. The Magician Killer buried the forty people, and each of their faces was familiar to him, because they were the faces of people he had killed with his own hands.

Sixty and Twenty—

Twenty-five people and fifteen people - the choices continue. The sacrifices continue. The mountain of corpses is getting higher and higher.

"Is this... what you want me to see?"

Kiritsugu felt sick at this low-level game, and asked the thing that called itself the "consciousness of the Holy Grail".

"Yes, this is your truth, the answer from Emiya Kiritsugu's heart, and the wish that the Holy Grail must fulfill as a wish-granting machine."

"wrong!"

Looking at his hands stained red, Kiritsugu screamed.

"This is not my wish! I hope there is another way... so I can only rely on a 'miracle'..."

"Your wish cannot be contained in a method you do not know. If you wish to save the world, you can only do it with the method you already know."

"Are you kidding me? What kind of miracle is this?!"

"It's a miracle. The wish that you have been longing for but cannot realize on your own will be realized on a huge scale that cannot be accomplished by humans. If this is not a miracle, what is it?"

The remaining five people were all the most important to Kiritsugu. But he still had to make a choice, to save two or three.

He screamed in despair and pulled the trigger, hitting Emiya Norihiko in the face. Natalia Kaminsky's brains also splattered.

"You want to... come to this world and do this to all of humanity? Is this how you want to realize my ideal?"

"That's right. Your wish is the most suitable form for the Holy Grail. Emiya Kiritsugu, you are absolutely suitable for the title of 'all the evil in the world'."

There were three people left, should he save one or two? Kiritsugu grasped the hilt of the knife with trembling hands.

The tears had dried up. With a ghost-like empty gaze, Kiritsugu tore into Hisau Maiya's body. He swung the dagger down again and again.

Just like that, there were only two people left in the world.

No need to weigh them on the scales. No need to calculate their equal value. This was the last hope bought at the cost of 498 lives.

After completing all this, Kiritsugu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He seemed to have become a walking corpse, surrounded by the warmth of the stove.

In the nostalgic, peaceful and warm room, the "wife" and "daughter" smiled.

In other words, this is the stable world he is looking for.

No need to fight or hurt anyone. It's a complete paradise.

"You're back, Kiritsugu. You're finally back!"

With a face full of joy, Ilyasviel hugged her father's neck with her little hands.

There is such peace in the northernmost city where snow is falling heavily.

The blood-stained career finally ushered in such unimaginable warmth.

If such a peaceful children's room were the whole world, there would be no disputes or entanglements.

"——Right? Got it? This is the wish that the Holy Grail will fulfill for you."

Irisviel smiled at her husband who was immersed in happiness.

Just pray to the Holy Grail.

Pray for his wife to be resurrected and his daughter to be brought back.

In the face of infinite magic, these are insignificant miracles.

All that was left was happiness. On this planet where everything was destroyed, the last three humans should be able to live happily forever like this.

"…I can't find walnut tree buds anymore…"

The white snow outside the window was no longer there, only the swirling black mud. Looking at this scene, Kiritsugu muttered to himself. At this time, Ilyasviel smiled and shook her head at him.

"Well, it doesn't matter. It's enough for Ilya to be with Kiritsugu and his mother."

Kiritsugu's tears welled up as he stroked the head of his beloved daughter in his arms.

"Thank you... Dad likes Ilya the most. I swear, that's the only thing..."

His hands did not stop moving. As if they were not controlled by his brain, like a set machine, Kiritsugu put the muzzle of the Contender against his daughter's small chin.

"——Goodbye, Ilya."

The girl's head exploded with the sound of gunfire.

On Kiritsugu’s tear-soaked cheek was a piece of flesh with silver hair on it.

Irisviel screamed. Her eyes widened, her hair was disheveled, and she screamed madly and selflessly.

"W-what did you do!?"

Kiritsugu pushed down his wife who rushed forward like a fierce ghost and strangled her slender neck with his hands.

"The Holy Grail is something that shouldn't exist..."

Regardless of what is inside this body, the personality of Irisviel that coexists with the body is still real. The despair and pain of her daughter being killed, and the hatred for her husband who killed her daughter, are undoubtedly Irisviel's true feelings.

Kiritsugu stared at her, accepting the fact as he used all his strength to strangle his wife's neck.

"…What are you doing…Why are you rejecting the Holy Grail and us…my Ilya…Why are you doing this!?" "—Because, I—"

The sound squeezed out of his throat was so empty, like a gust of wind blowing through a hollow hole. No sadness, no anger. Of course, Emiya Kiritsugu's heart was empty. He had given up the miracle he pursued, and also gave up the interests that were completely contrary to his original intention. At this moment, there was no way he could have anything left in his heart.

"I want to—save—the world."

There is only one thing, that is the belief that is carried through to the end. But why does this sentence sound so empty?

Irisviel stared at Kiritsugu, her snow-white face flushed red. Her scarlet eyes, which always looked at him with love and longing, were now stained with curses and resentment.

"—I curse you—"

The graceful and slender fingers grasped Kiritsugu’s shoulders. From the five fingers that sank deeply into the flesh, black mud flowed out.

"Emiya Kiritsugu... I curse you... to suffer... to regret until death... I will never forgive you..."

"Ahh, whatever."

The filth filled with hatred flowed through the blood vessels to the heart, penetrating into the soul of this man who had lost everything. But even so, Kiritsugu did not let go, and he even forgot the meaning of the tears on his cheeks. He strangled the woman in the black dress while speaking.

"It's okay. I said - I'll carry you."

The shaking hand broke the woman's cervical vertebrae.

Again, the scene changes.

——Invaded the deep spiritual illusion, only to find in retrospect that it was only a blink of an eye.

When Kiritsugu came to his senses, he found that he was standing in the original large prop warehouse.

In his right hand, he still held the Contender, but had not yet pulled the trigger. In front of him was Kotomine Kirei, who was kneeling unconscious and motionless.

Kiritsugu looked up at the ceiling, watching the black mud that was still dripping down and covering the ground. Kiritsugu was stained with the mud at the same time as Kirei, so he should have seen the same thing at this moment.

If the dirt really did spill from the Holy Grail - the Holy Grail should be right there, on the stage of the auditorium, and it is certain that the Advent ceremony is still going on.

We must seize the time.

Kirei regained consciousness and tried to stand up, but was stopped by the muzzle of Kiritsugu's gun against his back.

Kirei immediately understood the situation and gave a wry smile to the dramatic ending. After such a tragic life-and-death contest, he had never expected that the key to the final victory would lie in the accidental factor of who woke up first.

Or, could it be that the person who ends the nightmare first with his own will will wake up first?

"…It's so stupid, I can't understand it. Why reject it?"

A deep voice filled with anger and hatred. This was the first time Emiya Kiritsugu heard Kotomine Kirei's voice directly.

"…Do you think there will be any benefit from accepting that thing?"

A hoarse, exhausted, and hollow voice. This was also the first time Kotomine Kirei faced Emiya Kiritsugu directly.

Both of them had come into contact with the thing in the Holy Grail and understood its true identity. Kirei saw all of Kiritsugu's exchanges with the thing that claimed to be the Holy Grail's consciousness. Kirei could not understand Kiritsugu's choice no matter what.

  "You... you've given up everything, sacrificed everything, and finally made it this far! Why are you rejecting something that's so easily within your reach!

"That thing would involve great sacrifice for results that weren't all that worthwhile - that's all."

"Then give it to me!"

At this moment, Kirei felt hatred from the bottom of his heart for Emiya Kiritsugu - this man who might have been very similar to himself in the past, but was now completely the opposite of him.

"Something that is unnecessary to you is useful to me! That thing...if something like that appears, I will definitely be able to give it an answer without hesitation!"

Kirei understood Kiritsugu's intention. Kirei knew what this man, who had made up his mind to reject the wish-granting machine by even killing his beloved, would do next. And he would not allow him to do so. For this, he was willing to gamble his life up to this point.

"Please, don't kill it! It's eager for its own life to be born!"

The priest prayed passionately without even being allowed to look back. The assassin stared down at him with cold eyes.

"Ah, you are really--unreasonably stupid."

The finger slid towards the trigger, and the firing pin ejected the 30.06 Springfield sniper rifle bullet out of the chamber.

A flash of fire and roar.

With one accurate shot, Kiritsugu shot through Kotomine Kirei's heart from behind.

  ···········

Saber walked in the flames that burned like an inferno.

The wounds Berserker had inflicted on her were far beyond the range of her self-regeneration ability. Her once shiny silver armor was now stained with black stains by Berserker's countless attacks. Her bloodless skin was as pale as white paper. Her knees were weak, her ankles were trembling, her breathing was rapid, and every step she took would cause a pain that almost made her lose consciousness to spread throughout her body.

Even though it was difficult to walk, Saber did not stop moving forward.

She still had a responsibility, a promise that she had to fulfill as a king. There was only one way left to fulfill this promise, and that was to obtain the Holy Grail. So she had to move forward, spurring her wounded body and gritting her teeth as she moved forward.

Finally, I reached the first floor. After passing through the entrance and pushing open the door, I saw an empty music hall. In the center of the stage, the Holy Grail, shining with dazzling golden light, was floating in the flames.

"what……"

It was clear at a glance that this was undoubtedly the Holy Grail that he longed for.

The android's body was restored to a golden vessel made of inorganic matter. Saber had no idea of ​​the process, but from the scene before her, she could already sense what was happening.

She is the "guardian of the vessel" and is determined to hand over the Holy Grail to Kiritsugu and Saber. If the "vessel" could be taken away by others, she would definitely stand up and die to protect the Holy Grail. However, Irisviel did not appear at the ceremony, and the Holy Grail was about to descend under the control of an invisible hand.

“Irisviel…”

Recalling her voice, appearance and smile, Saber choked and bit her lips.

He swore with his sword to protect her, but failed to do so. He broke his oath.

Just like I failed to save my beloved motherland

Like failing to ease a friend's pain.

Self-blame and humiliation tore at her heart. What flashed through Saber’s mind was the city covered with snow all year round, and Irisviel’s words when they exchanged vows.

——Saber, we must obtain the Holy Grail. For you, and your Master——

"...Yes, at least I will keep this promise. Only this promise..."

It is everything that supports Saber now.

At this moment, she still clings to the sword in her hand, still breathes, and her heart still beats. All this is for one reason.

Saber took a firm step forward. At this moment.

"——You're too slow, Saber. Even if I were bitten by a mad dog, you shouldn't have kept me waiting for so long."

A desperate golden figure stood in the middle of the aisle between the audience seats, blocking Saber’s path.

“…Archer…”

"Haha, don't make that expression. I know you are coveting my treasure, but you'd better restrain yourself. Such an explicit expression is really tasteless, just like a hungry dog."